Studies in inhibitors of calcification and levels of urine saturation with calcium salts in recurrent stone patients.

Studies have been done on patients with recurrent renal calculous disease, measuring in addition to the usual serum and urine constituents the inhibiting capacity of the urine and the activity products of calcium oxalate, octocalcium phosphate and brushite. Studies on the 24-hour urine calcium, phosphorus and uric acid and serum calcium indicate no essential differences between patients with calcium oxalate, mixed or uric acid stones and normal individuals. We were unable to demonstrate a difference in the inhibiting capacity of the urine between normal individuals and patients with calcium oxalate calculi, and levels of saturation of urine with calcium oxalate were identical in the calcium oxalate stone patients and normal individuals. The degree of saturation of urine with calcium phosphate is significantly greater in stone patients.